Les Sins-Prelim

Like just about everyone else, I’ve been a fan of Chaz Bundick and Toro y Moi ever since Causers of This first made its way into my ears, so when I heard of his alter ego dance project, Les Sins, I didn’t hesitate to take a listen. Last month when Bundick dropped “Fetch” and “Taken”, two tracks from his upcoming full length out on March 18th via JIALONG, I wasn’t taken back like I had expected to be but that was no reason to give up hope (and I’m glad that I didn’t). A few days ago the internet was treated to two more tracks from the album: the seductive, funk laden “Grind” and the eerie, hip hop driven, lean inducing “Prelim” and thus, my faith in Les Sins was restored. I don’t know how Bundick does it and frankly, I’m not sure anyone does, but as with his other material, Les Sins is growing to be something that could only come from the mind of Chaz himself and with “Grind” and Prelim”, this upcoming LP is definitely shaping up to be promising, fresh, and ingenuous to say the least.

Still Sound-Cool Tears

Sometimes I’ve got to stop myself from going through my dashboard on soundcloud because I’ll come across way too many tracks that I like and then I’ve got to figure out what to fit into the day and then it just becomes a mess. With that being said, all it took was just one listen to “Cool Tears”, the latest track from Japan’s stillsound, and I knew as soon as it ended that it had to go up today. Taking his alias from Toro y Moi’s hit track off of Underneath The Pine, the 17 year old steadily delivers gem after gem, with every one being doused in either deep funk vibes, subtle r&b harmonies, lush chillwave, or all three. stillsound is another example of the growing number of young artists in the scene who are showing that they can clearly hold their own and with “Cool Tears”  it’s evident that this up and comer is only getting better with time. stillsound recently collaborated with Juan Avila (imprintafter) on the opening track of Avila’s second EP which is titled Cliffside and you can pick it up for 50 cents or free (through a mediafire link) by heading over to KEATSCOLLECTIVE’s bandcamp page. Also, don’t forget to hear even more funk filled material from stillsound by visiting him on soundcloud. 

Toro Y Moi-So Many Details

Chances are that when you hear the name Chaz Bundick or Toro Y Moi, you immediately start thinking of your favorite songs and before you know it, it’s stuck in your head. Whether it’s from the chillest of chillwave heard on his debut Causers of This, the funky and soulful sounds of Underneath The Pine, or maybe even the disco esque vibes of Freaking Out, most of us all have those Toro Y Moi tracks that we can’t get enough of. Well like I’ve previously mentioned, Toro Y Moi will be dropping his third LP Anything In Return on January 22nd and just in case that may seem like a little bit far away, we have the album’s first single “So Many Details” to hold us over until then. Chaz has always been one to change up style and “So Many Details” certainly does that by going above anything of his prior material while still retaining that undeniably smooth funk groove that we’ve all grown to love. In an interview with Interview Magazine, Chaz stated that he wanted to make “a sincere pop record that’s not all processed and bubblegum” and after hearing “So Many Details” about a dozen times today, I’m certain that Anything In Return will be just that and way more. 

Ducktails-The Flower Lane

Lately it seems like a lot of projects that began as mainly solo efforts are starting to flourish and become more expansive. I’ve got no problem with that at all because it usually produces good results and when it comes to Matt Mondanile and Ducktails, that’s exactly the direction that things are taking for the follow up album to last year’s Ducktails III: Arcade Dynamics which will be titled The Flower Lane. The upcoming LP isn’t due out until January 29th but yesterday the band gave us a taste of what’s to come with the album’s jangly psychedelic title track. Ducktails has always known how to crank up the chill factor to maximum output and on “The Flower Lane” things are no different in that aspect, but it’s clear from the first few moments of the track that things are larger and more polished and that probably has something to do with Mondanile deciding to make the project more of a band and less of a one man thing. It certainly works for Ducktails and now, more than ever, listeners may have that feeling of pure (maybe drug induced) bliss while walking through a forest or being really high sitting on your couch or even imagining that they can soar through the sky on a cloud. Regardless, “The Flower Lane” is brimming with good vibes and that’s something that we can always count on Ducktails to deliver. With this and Toro y Moi’s new album Anything In Return both dropping in January, 2013 is already shaping up to be off to a great start. Recommended for fans of Weird Dreams, Real Estate, and Tame Impala.